


The Rats

by Cait_Sidhe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, LOVECRAFT H. P. - Works
Genre: Cats, Hallucinations, Horror, M/M, Mental Instability, Mental Institutions, Paranoia, Psychosis, Rats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 22:50:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13844670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe
Summary: Draco Malfoy, an Unspeakable who studies supernatural phenomena, interviews Harry Potter, who claims he definitely did not kill his auror partner while on a simple assignment that lead to unexpectedly investigating a mysterious crypt.Can be pre-drarry if you want it to be.





	The Rats

**Author's Note:**

> Based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Rats in the Walls."
> 
> Written so it can be the beginnings of drarry, but isn't necessarily so, depending on your interpretation.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that right belongs to J.K. Rowling. H.P. Lovecraft's things are all in public domain.

“Look, I already told them what happened! It wasn’t me, it was-- it was-- well, it wasn’t me! I would never--”

“Harry, I’m not blaming you for it,” Draco promised. “I just want to understand what happened.”

“Yeah? And why do you care, Malfoy? You probably just want me locked up for good like they all do!”

“Harry, please, I don’t want you locked up. I just want to understand. Try explaining it calmly. Also, again, please call me Draco.”

“If you don’t want me locked up, _Draco,_ why am I in this tiny cell? Why am I not allowed to leave? Huh?” Harry rocked back and forth anxiously, clutching the edge of the bed tightly-- Draco sat on a chair beside him.

“It’s not a cell, it’s a private hospital room, and you’re here for your own safety.” Draco explained. ‘And possibly others',’ he added mentally.

“So you’re a healer?” Harry looked at Draco skeptically.

“I’m not a healer, I’m with the Ministry.”

“Liar! I’d know if you were; I’m an auror, there all the time! You are definitely not an auror.”

“Right, I’m not--”

“So why the hell are you here?”

“If you’d stop interrupting, I’d be able to explain,” Draco said tersely, trying to stay calm and smile. It certainly wouldn’t do to get into a fight. “I am an Unspeakable, studying the types of phenomena which you claim to have experienced.”

“Yeah? And what exactly is it you study?”

“The type of unspeakable, indescribable, horrific things you claim were underneath that place. Supernatural things that can’t be explained by typical magic.”

“...”

“Harry?”

“...You actually believe me?”

“I do.”

“Really?” Harry looked at Draco with desperate hope. “B-because everyone else, they all say-- they say that I-- they think I did it. They think I killed him, but it was the-- it was the-- not me...”

“Yes, they say such. But they don’t understand. I do, though. I believe you.” Actually, Draco wasn’t quite sure what to believe, but he never did at first-- after all, with what he studied, the witnesses were rarely reliable. Whether this case was typical madness or an actual case of an encounter with a supernatural horror was up to Draco to find out. “So, why don’t we start from the beginning? You and Ron were assigned to investigate a strange house?”

“Yes. The Ministry has been assessing ancient abandoned wizarding residences in muggle areas lately, ensuring they’re safe and magic-free so the towns can repurpose them. This was one such house. A huge castle, really, stone and everything. And-- _WILL YOU SHUT IT!!_ ” Harry yelled at the wall, then began looking around frantically.

“Harry?” Draco asked. He put his hand on the man’s knee, causing him to jump. “What are you yelling at?”

Harry paled. “You don’t hear them?”

“Hear what?”

“The rats! They’re in the walls, so noisy! They go away, then just come back, wherever I go! You don’t hear them?!”

“No, I don’t…”

“Ah, well, they’re quiet now.”

“Okay… well, would you mind continuing the story, or do you need a break?”

Harry shook his head. “I’m good. Er. So, we get into the castle, real easily, not locked or anything. Which I suppose it doesn’t have to be, as everyone in town was too afraid to even climb the hill it stood upon. It’s understandable though; this thing was creepy with a capital K!”

“C,” Draco corrected automatically.

“Huh?”

“Creepy starts with a C.”

“Er. Right.” Harry blushed slightly. It was quite adorable, Draco thought, then immediately questioned why he had had that sudden thought.

“Anyway, please continue.”

“So, we go into this creepy castle, and it’s immediately obvious it hadn’t been inhabited for 400 years, just as the records showed.”

“Hold up. 400 years? And you just walked in? It was still in good enough condition to enter safely?”

“Well, yes. It was made of stone; stone doesn’t rot like wood does.”

“The door was made of stone too then?”

“No, the door was wood, of course? Why?”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Perhaps the door had been replaced. If not, well, a 400-year-old wooden door still being in good condition was definitely suspect. “Do you know why it was uninhabited for so long? Was there something like strange rumors, or a tragedy?”

“Ah, yes. Both. Some terrible unexplained accident killed the master, five of his six children, and some servants, leading the last son to flee. It was assumed he murdered him, but there was no evidence to try him on. He was unable to speak of what happened, only saying he didn’t want the place, and then went to what was then the colonies, never to return to Scotland again. Legend says a horde of rats fled the place a few days later and invaded the town, though that part seems a bit far-fetched. But regardless, the villagers of the time actually condoned the fact he killed them, rumor has it, since the family apparently had a pretty strange reputation.”

“Strange how?”

Harry shrugged. “Unexplainable happenings, odd noises, strange things being brewed-- all the usual rumors muggles make about wizards who aren’t careful enough at hiding. So we figured it was nothing… in there, however, we realized that perhaps there was some stock in those rumors… ARGH! _SHUT UP!_ ”

“Shut up? Who do you want to shut up?”

“THOSE DAMN RATS!” Harry stood and slammed his fist into the wall.

“Harry, don’t!” Draco quickly moved to Harry, grabbing his wrist as the man prepared to punch the wall again. His hand was bloody. Draco was glad he had done some studies in healing once learning he’d be working with many who were… disturbed, that was a good word for it. This type of thing happened much too often.

Harry gasped upon seeing his hand. “Oh, god. Did I do that?”

“You don’t remember?”

“No, I just-- the rats-- the rats were back-- I had to-- I had to do something-- and then, I was standing, and my hand…” Harry winced. “Draco, it hurts…” Harry began breathing quickly, and Draco could tell his heart rate was also picking up, as his hand was still on his wrist.

“Shh. Harry, calm down, it’s okay. I’ll fix it,” Draco told him gently, leading him back to sit, this time sitting with Harry on the edge of the bed rather than in the chair. He held his wand to Harry’s hand, pointing it at various spots while whispering healing spells, then cleaning the blood off.

“Thank you,” Harry whispered.

“Of course. Now, do you need a break, or can you continue the story? Why did you feel there was stock in those rumors?”

“There were all sorts of strange objects around, although none seemed to hold magic anymore. Books, too, many in Latin, old tomes that had a distinct air of strangeness. We looked in some of them; they had many strange rituals, potions, and spells, all of which definitely were not standard wizard ones. We even found-- well, we’re not sure if it was the actual one, of course-- I mean, how could it be? It’s a legend, right? Or we thought it was-- but it was there, and seemed real enough, and the name on the cover said so-- I mean, it was certainly old enough, and in Latin…” Harry trailed off, looking slightly lost.

“Harry?” Draco asked, recapturing the dark-haired man’s attention. “What was the book?”

“It-- well, like I said, it probably wasn’t the actual one-- but the cover said it was the Necronomicon.”

“The Necronomicon?” Draco asked. “You mean, the legendary ancient book of unspeakable horrors?” He put an air of disbelief in his voice-- the book certainly was real, and there was even a copy of it in his department, sealed in a case of course, but that wasn’t something they wanted on public record.

“Yes, that one. Like I said, probably wasn’t real. So, we took a look, and in it…” Harry trailed off, staring into space.

From Draco’s experience, that was common for people to do when speaking of what they saw in the book, confirming it actually was the real thing. Very interesting; if that was there, perhaps Harry actually had encountered something of interest. “Forget the book. What did you do after looking at it?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. Well, we looked around a bit, and there were a lot of odd carvings and symbols around, plus some ritual circles. Dark stuff, really dark. All inactive though, of course. But rumor in town was that the place was built over the ruins of some old temple that worshiped dark entities and then a cult had been run out of it around the 1300s, shortly after the castle was built, and from what we saw, probably remained until it was abandoned, as there were definitely signs of that. Some rooms had torture equipment and ritual set-ups for things clearly involving human sacrifice, and there were clear signs of daemon-worship. Nyx-- my cat-- seemed fairly uncomfortable with it all, as well, sniffing and scratching at the walls, clearly agitated. The more we explored, the creepier it felt, though that was probably just our imagination. Abandoned places can start to feel that way, you know?”

Draco nodded. “You know, I’m surprised they’re merely sending aurors into these places. Don’t curse-breakers usually accompany you when going into such?”

“Well, we didn’t know it would be like that. Usually the houses they send us to are tame, perhaps with some doxies or boggarts but often have nothing more than a few broomsticks or jars of floo powder to remove. We had no idea it would be this type of dark castle.”

“I see. But if I recall, isn’t it protocol to leave and call for some type of back-up in these cases?”

Harry nodded. “We did. But they’re short on aurors right now, so they told us to go back and box it all up as usual, contacting them if we find anything with active magic that seems dangerous. So we went back, bringing extra expanded boxes. We didn’t start boxing immediately though--we explored its entirety first…”

“The entirety? Every room? Or was there a part you stayed away from, a room that seemed frightening or such?”

“...”

“Harry?” Had Draco asked the wrong question? As far as he knew, Harry had been telling him much more than he had told the interrogators; he barely had said anything at all to them, but he seemed quite comfortable telling Draco all he knew. Was it because it was Draco, or maybe because he wasn’t aggressive like the auror interrogators tended to be? “Could you answer the question, or are you not comfortable with it? We can skip--”

Harry began shivering, putting his hands over his ears and closing his eyes. “Get them away! Why don’t they GO AWAY?!”

Draco took a deep breath, and gently lifted Harry’s hands from his head. “Is it the rats again?”

“Yes, but they’ve gone away now… they seem to go away when you touch me,” Harry muttered, leaning into Draco and grabbing onto his arm with both hands.

“Er. Harry?”

“This will help.”

“If you say so…” Draco was skeptical of that, but he wasn’t going to complain about Harry’s… could you call it affection, or was it just desperation? “Now, could you answer my question? Did any room feel particularly unusual?”

“Yes, sort-of. The sub-basement actually felt entirely non-creepy despite clearly being part of an old temple, filled with inscriptions in various languages. Inscriptions that clearly indicated daemon-worship, yet for some reason, it felt safe.”

“Right. So, what happened next?”

“Well, it was late, so we decided to stay in some of the upstairs bedrooms-- a job so big takes a few days, after all, since we have to sort through it all and decide what should be brought back and what can simply be vanished. It’s not the first time people have had to stay overnight at a place they’re making safe for muggles. So, we each took a room-- they conveniently already had beds, although we did have to magic them to usability. So I fell asleep, but it was uneasy, with strange dreams, though that isn’t unusual for me. But then I was woken up a short time later when Nyx suddenly stirred-- he had been sleeping on my stomach-- and stood there on top of me, muscles tense and staring at a point on the wall. I lifted up a little to see, but there wasn’t anything there but a tapestry… but then, I swear that arras moved slightly, and I could hear scurrying, upon which Nyx leapt onto it, pulling the thing down. Nothing was behind it but a stone wall, yet Nyx kept pacing back and forth in front of it for a while, until the sounds stopped… the sounds… the rats… NO! THEY’RE BACK!! _MAKE THEM STOP!!_ ” Harry clutched Draco tighter, pressing his head into his chest.

“Shhh, Harry, it’s okay!” Draco said, attempting to console the now shaking man.

“N-no, it’s not! They followed me! They’ll get me too! Just like they got him!!”

“No, they won’t. Not while I’m here.” Draco rubbed small circles on Harry’s back in an effort to calm him.

“...”

“Harry?”

“They stopped.”

“Good. Do you need a moment, or could you continue the story?”

Harry sat back up, though still leaned into Draco. “I can continue. Er. What was I saying?”

“The cat pacing by the wall.”

“Right. So, Nyx returned to the bed after that, curling back onto me, but of course I couldn’t sleep a wink more after that. In the morning I asked Ron if he had heard anything, but he hadn’t. We got some rat traps just in case though, setting them up before beginning to work.”

“Hmmm. And did anything odd happen while you worked?”

“Nope. But it did again that night, and worse…”

“Worse how?” Draco prompted, when Harry didn’t respond.

“Horrible nightmares, of this vast grotto where a white-bearded demon shepherded strange flabby fungal beasts of the strangest, most horrifying sort. But then, rats began pouring down into the grotto, and I was swiftly awoken by Nyx once again stirring abruptly, snarling and hissing, unconsciously digging his claws into me out of fear-- the sound of the rats was everywhere, behind every wall! When I turned on the lights, the tapestry-- which I swear I had removed the night before-- was violently shaking and fluttering, as if the rats were in the weaving itself! When it stopped, so did the sound. Obviously I wasn’t going to stay in the room-- but first I checked the rat-traps. All were sprung, every single one, yet not one had anything in it. Not one.”

“That certainly is unusual,” Draco agreed. “Did Ron hear them too?”

“No, actually. But he was awake-- he met me in the hallway. He said he’d had a nightmare too, and woke up when he heard Nyx yowling. Then he did hear them; we both did. Running downwards through the walls. Nyx ran after them, and we followed, all the way down to the sub-basement. The sound of the rats stopped then, but Nyx was pawing at a small altar-- upon closer inspection, we realized it was some sort of crypt…” 

“Please tell me you didn’t go down there yourself…”

“No, no, of course not. We sent a request for an exploration team. Then, since the sub-basement felt safe and we were tired, we conjured some cots and slept there.”

“You slept in the basement near a door to a crypt?”

“Well, yeah. It felt like the safest place there. But, I had that odd dream again, and when the curse-breaker, Norrys, who had apparently arrived before the others, woke us up, as it was nearly ten in the morning, he said we had been shivering greatly. Both of us. After some discussion, we realized Ron and I had the same dream. And recognized the curse-breaker from somewhere too, but couldn’t place him. Anyway, soon the rest of the team arrived-- another auror, an archaeologist, an anthropologist, and another curse-breaker. So, without further pause, we entered the crypt-- UGH! WHAT THE HELL!” Harry abruptly stood, glancing around the room frantically, unconsciously scratching violently at his arm.

Draco stood and grabbed Harry’s hands; the skin on his arm was bright red from sharp fingernail scratches. 

“Why won’t they stop?” Harry whined. “Why? Why do they keep coming back?”

“Harry, relax. We’ll take care of them, don’t worry. But now, you need to finish the story.” Draco led Harry back to the bed.

Harry took a deep breath. “Right. Where was I? Right, we entered the crypt… well, it was extremely disturbing, to say the least. The stairs were littered with skeletons of beings who seemed to have been trying to escape; I say beings and not people, as the anthropologist said that although some were human, many were actually from more primitive human ancestors, oddly enough.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “How can that be? They’d have to be millennia old.”

“Exactly! That’s just the tip of the disturbing things though. The archeologist then noted that the chisel-marks in the stone suggested it had been dug from beneath, connecting something to the temple. So we carried onwards, expecting perhaps to be led to another temple or structure. Instead, we were led to a village.”

“A village? It led outside?”

Harry shook his head. “No. It was entirely underground, though lit in a mysterious twilight. A village in a grotto, just like the one we dreamed of, except dead. Ruins of houses, monoliths, temples-- all sorts of structures. And they were from all eras, too-- some Roman, some Sumerian, some Egyptian, some even 17th-century English! Made of all different materials-- wood, stone, clay, brick, etc. The ground around the steps was littered with bones. And by littered I mean we had to wade through them. The anthropologist was again baffled, as they were a mix of both human and every species of pre-human possible, some which they had no idea even existed. And their positions all indicated they were attempting to flee up the stairs. The bones had been gnawed on by rats, of which there were also bones of, as well as by something whose teeth marks were entirely unrecognizable, possibly those strange creatures the demon in our dreams had been herding, for there were bones of those further along, in stone pens, or so we thought at first. Closer examination showed them to be herbivores. We explored the buildings then, all of which had strange passages and rituals written on them in various languages and runes-- the archeologist tried to translate one, but we had to stop them before finishing for how horrid it was. Some buildings had cells with the bones of prisoners in them, too-- one of them was even under a temple meant to worship dark things, leaving no doubt as to what those prisoners were used for.”

“I see… so, what happened after this exploration? The others said you and the curse-breaker went off to a cave?”

“Yes. The others opted to stay outside of it while Norrys, Ron, and I explored the large cavern on the other end of the underground grotto. We got pretty far in, but then there was this unfathomable noise…” Harry shivered.

“What type of noise?”

“I can’t describe it! But it was absolutely dreadful. Ron and I both shook upon hearing it, though Norrys was oddly undisturbed. Then, Nyx dashed past me, going deeper in! But before we could follow, another noise was heard in the depths of the cave, right as our wands went out and wouldn’t relight… the rats! The rats, the rats!”

“Shh, there’s no rats here--”

“Not here, _there!_ It was the sound of the rats! We turned and ran in the darkness, back out towards the cave’s entrance… but… but…”

“But you never made it.”

“We never made it. I felt something brush against me, something squishy, then Ron tripped behind me, and I turned back to get him… then blacked out. When I came to, the rest of the party was there, accusing me of-- of-- of killing him. I tried to explain, telling them it was the rats, that they were in danger, but they said I was just spewing nonsense, speaking in tongues! Then I guess they hit me with a spell, since the next thing I knew I was waking up here.”

“That’s all you recall of it? Ron tripping, and then them finding you?”

“Yes. And the rats… the… ARGH!! WHY. WON’T. THEY. SHUT. UP?!” Harry covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes, pushing as hard as he could.

“Harry! Please, stop!” Draco grabbed Harry’s wrists, pulling his hands away and not letting go. “You’ll hurt yourself! There’s no rats here, you’re safe…”

“No! I’ll never be safe! The rats, the rats!” Harry’s voice croaked, tears forming in his eyes. “They’ll follow me everywhere, these damned _rats!_ ”

“Harry, please, calm down,” Draco begged, holding him close.

“I wish Nyx were here…” Harry muttered, nuzzling into Draco. “He’d know what to do with them.”

After a while of sitting there quietly, cuddled up, Draco sighed, unlatching himself from Harry and announcing he had to leave-- but at Harry’s request, promised he’d be back to visit, and that he’d look into what happened to the cat.

“Draco?” Harry whispered, as Draco was about to turn the doorknob, causing the blond to pause. “I just remembered where we saw Norrys before… he was the daemon in the dream.”

 

*******

 

“So, what do you think?” the Head Auror asked.

Draco sat quiet for a moment. “How many curse-breakers did you send on the expedition?”

“Just one, of course. Typical exploration team. Oh, and there was the one they already had with them. Norrys, I think the name was, according to the others on the expedition. A strange one, they said.”

“What happened to Norrys?”

“He left afterwards… you don’t think he did it, do you? He had been in the cave with them, came running out before them, but there’s no way he could have murdered someone so brutally; he was ancient, and didn’t even have his own wand. Claimed to be a squib.”

Draco raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “A squib? As a curse-breaker?”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“Right. Well, you’ll need to find him; I am certain he is not human, and quite possibly the key to proving Potter’s innocence.”

“So you think he didn’t do it, then? You think there’s stock in his claim that it was supernatural rats?”

“I cannot say if he killed him or not, but if he did, it definitely was not by his will, I can say that much. Whether there were rats or not, I cannot know either, but I do know whatever is down there ought to never be encountered by any sane human. You must destroy the castle. Completely. Then permanently seal the entrance to the ‘crypt’ below it-- bury it, even-- and don’t let anyone near it ever again.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yes, that bad… oh, and one more thing, do you know what happened to the cat?”

“Cat? What cat?”

“Potter’s cat. The one he took with him.”

“Potter never had a cat...”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hope you enjoyed it! It's rather difficult to write a character in an abnormal mental state; I hope I was able to convey it well enough, for my first attempt at such. :)


End file.
